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It appears the rumors about a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell Mercedes-Benz GLC were true. Last week the automaker showed off its new Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell, which also features plug-in battery technology. Benz says it'll be the first plug-in, hydrogen-powered vehicle available when it goes into production next year.
The big game-changer here is the ability to charge the 9-kWh lithium-ion battery via a plug. Mercedes says the GLC F-Cell provides around 31 miles of range on battery power alone, which means most owners could go long periods of time without depending on the vehicle's hydrogen equation. This is especially important now as cities continue to grow the relatively small network of hydrogen fueling stations.
Mercedes has spent years researching and developing its B-Class F-Cell, and all that testing has resulted in a number of benefits for the GLC F-Cell. For starters, Benz says the GLC's fuel-cell system is 30-percent smaller, allowing all the drive unit's components to fit in the engine bay. The fuel cell system also contains 90 percent less platinum, which has drastically cut costs.
Meanwhile, about 8.8 pounds of hydrogen is stored in two carbon fiber tanks that sit at the vehicle's floor (one beneath the rear seats and another in the center). The battery, electric motor, and charging unit are all packaged at the rear of the GLC. Mercedes claims the the battery and fuel-cell units are enough to provide approximately 311 miles of range. The automaker didn't provide charge times for the battery, though it says the hydrogen tanks can be refilled in about 3 minutes. Benz will likely reveal more details on the GLC F-Cell at the 2016 Paris Motor Show this September.



[img]It appears the rumors about a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell Mercedes-Benz GLC were true. Last week the automaker showed off its new Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell, which also features plug-in battery technology. Benz says it'll be the first plug-in, hydrogen-powered vehicle available when it goes into production next year.

The big game-changer here is the ability to charge the 9-kWh lithium-ion battery via a plug. Mercedes says the GLC F-Cell provides around 31 miles of range on battery power alone, which means most owners could go long periods of time without depending on the vehicle's hydrogen equation. This is especially important now as cities continue to grow the relatively small network of hydrogen fueling stations.
Mercedes has spent years researching and developing its B-Class F-Cell, and all that testing has resulted in a number of benefits for the GLC F-Cell. For starters, Benz says the GLC's fuel-cell system is 30-percent smaller, allowing all the drive unit's components to fit in the engine bay. The fuel cell system also contains 90 percent less platinum, which has drastically cut costs.
Meanwhile, about 8.8 pounds of hydrogen is stored in two carbon fiber tanks that sit at the vehicle's floor (one beneath the rear seats and another in the center). The battery, electric motor, and charging unit are all packaged at the rear of the GLC. Mercedes claims the the battery and fuel-cell units are enough to provide approximately 311 miles of range. The automaker didn't provide charge times for the battery, though it says the hydrogen tanks can be refilled in about 3 minutes. Benz will likely reveal more details on the GLC F-Cell at the 2016 Paris Motor Show this September.



[/img]It appears the rumors about a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell Mercedes-Benz GLC were true. Last week the automaker showed off its new Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell, which also features plug-in battery technology. Benz says it'll be the first plug-in, hydrogen-powered vehicle available when it goes into production next year.

The big game-changer here is the ability to charge the 9-kWh lithium-ion battery via a plug. Mercedes says the GLC F-Cell provides around 31 miles of range on battery power alone, which means most owners could go long periods of time without depending on the vehicle's hydrogen equation. This is especially important now as cities continue to grow the relatively small network of hydrogen fueling stations.
Mercedes has spent years researching and developing its B-Class F-Cell, and all that testing has resulted in a number of benefits for the GLC F-Cell. For starters, Benz says the GLC's fuel-cell system is 30-percent smaller, allowing all the drive unit's components to fit in the engine bay. The fuel cell system also contains 90 percent less platinum, which has drastically cut costs.
Meanwhile, about 8.8 pounds of hydrogen is stored in two carbon fiber tanks that sit at the vehicle's floor (one beneath the rear seats and another in the center). The battery, electric motor, and charging unit are all packaged at the rear of the GLC. Mercedes claims the the battery and fuel-cell units are enough to provide approximately 311 miles of range. The automaker didn't provide charge times for the battery, though it says the hydrogen tanks can be refilled in about 3 minutes. Benz will likely reveal more details on the GLC F-Cell at the 2016 Paris Motor Show this September.

One person was killed and three others wounded in a shooting inside a concert venue in New York City, where hip-hop artist T.I. was scheduled to perform, police said.

It happened around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday at Irving Plaza, near Manhattan's Union Square.

Police said a 34-year-old man was shot in the chest and a 33-year-old man was shot in the stomach. One of the men later died at a hospital, police did not say which one. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the leg. Police said a fourth person walked into a hospital on their own.

Elijah Rodriguez was attending the concert with his sister and they were in the VIP area by the stage. He said TI was supposed to go on stage at 9 or 9:30 p.m. but "he never showed up." At or around 10 p.m. he said the venue started playing music again, and at about 10:15 p.m., he saw a line of people coming out from where the performers were coming onstage.

"All the sudden I heard someone saying that there was a shot, that someone got shot," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez didn't actually hear the shots himself, but heard people saying that someone had gotten shot.

"It was scary to deal with. When I got outside, like literally across the street, there were a few girls having, like, panic attacks. One girl thought she saw someone get shot in front of her," Rodriguez said, adding that T.I was not onstage when the shots were fired.

Video shot inside the venue showed a chaotic scene as concertgoers rushed to the sides trying to leave the area as a group of people tended to a person on the floor.

Representatives for T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., said they were referring all questions about the shooting to police.

No arrests were made.

No other information was immediately available.

The front pocket of your jeans is a mysterious place – there's that weird little pocket that we only just figured out had a purpose, there's a bigger pocket that usually isn't even roomy enough to fit your phone (why even be a pocket then?!), and there are those random little silver buttons that have always been stuck to your pocket seams, but no one really knows why.

On our quest to solve the Pocket Mystery, a groundbreaking fact that puts us one step close to unraveling all the denim enigmas had been uncovered.

Those little metal buttons aren't actually buttons at all. They're called rivets and they're not meant to snap onto anything, even though they really look like they should. Apparently, rivets were put in place to prevent wear and tear on the corners of pocket seams. Since pockets go through a ton of strain when you sit/put things in them, the rivets are supposed to prevent what we'll call a "SpongeBob moment."

Thank you, rivets, for all you do!

The one-time slave turned abolitionist Harriet Tubman was named Wednesday as the new face of the $20 banknote, the first time an African American has featured on US currency.

A sweeping redesign of the US bills to be unveiled in four years will also protect Alexander Hamilton’s central place on the $10 note, once thought threatened until Broadway’s hit hip-hop musical “Hamilton” made the 18th century US finance chief a modern-day star.

Hamilton’s latter-day successor, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, announced the changes slated for the $5, $10, and $20 notes after more than a year of lobbying and polling, with heavy pressure for a female figure to take place on a US banknote.
An open poll of more than 600,000 people had strongly favored Tubman, a hero to African Americans for her escape from slavery in Maryland in 1849 to help run the legendary Underground Railroad that helped thousands of slaves flee to freedom in the 19th century.

The announcement brought widespread cheers.

“A woman, a leader, and a freedom fighter. I can’t think of a better choice for the $20 bill than Harriet Tubman,” tweeted Hillary Clinton, the Democrat seeking to become the country’s first female president.

Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, echoed: “I cannot think of an American hero more deserving of this honor than Harriet Tubman.”
The plan originally was to revamp the $10 note in 2020, possibly having a woman share it with Hamilton, while the $20 bill, one of the world’s most circulated banknotes, would wait another decade for redesign.

But the grassroots group Women On 20s launched a powerful campaign to get the $20 note revamp sped up, with a woman featured, in time for 2020, the 100th anniversary of American women receiving the right to vote.

“The decision to put Harriet Tubman on the new $20 was driven by thousands of responses we received from Americans young and old,” Lew said.

“I have been particularly struck by the many comments and reactions from children for whom Harriet Tubman is not just a historical figure, but a role model for leadership and participation in our democracy.”

Lew also came under pressure over the talk of changing the $10. Hamilton is a hero in the Treasury as the architect of the US financial system.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of “Hamilton”, lobbied Lew when the official attended the musical in New York. Miranda later said Lew had assured him his fans would be happy with the decision.

Women and African Americans will feature more broadly in the remakes of all three bills. US currency traditionally has featured a president or one of the founding fathers like Hamilton on the front and a monument on the back.

Women have only featured twice before: first president George Washington’s wife, in 1886, and the native American folklore heroine Pocahontas in 1875.

The new $10 note will depict a historic 1913 protest for women’s suffrage at the Treasury and several women, black and white, involved in that campaign.

The backside of the new $5 bill — which features president Abraham Lincoln on one side — will depict a number of historic events at his memorial in Washington, including Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I have a Dream” speech for racial equality.

The choice of Tubman pushed Andrew Jackson, a southern slave owner and general who was US president from 1829 to 1837, to the backside of the $20 note.

Lew said the target for the redesigns, which are complicated by the need to employ the most modern anti-counterfeiting technology, was 2020.

Over 99.9 percent of Christians are unaware of the numerous books left out of the New Testament, including the Gospels of Mary Magdalene, of Philip, and of Barnabas. In its embryonic stages, Christianity was a chaotic movement, with different sects declaring each other heretics, which led to periodic bloody confrontations. Emperor Constantine of Rome, a brutal and bloodthirsty misanthrope, was instrumental to the crystallisation of Christianity by changing profoundly the course of its history.
Indeed, Constantine influenced the selection of books that ultimately became the New Testament. During Constantine’s reign, the major dispute among Christian apologists was whether Jesus was God. Whereas followers of a priest named Arius asserted that Jesus was not God, that God created him. However, Bishop Alexander affirmed the divinity of Jesus by claiming that he had existed throughout all eternity. Constantine was irked by the unnecessary turmoil generated by a minor theological storm in a teacup. Therefore, as a proactive measure to prevent escalation that might disrupt peace and unity in his empire, he convened, in 325 A.D., the Council of Nicaea. Bishops and leaders of different Christian sects were invited.
The amorphous group of attendees included the educated and illiterates, hermits and zealots. M. Biagent, R. Leigh and H. Lincoln report, in their illuminating work, The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, that the Council established the date for Easter. Rules were formulated which codified the powers of Bishops, thereby making possible the concentration of power in the hands of ecclesiastical authorities. Most crucial of all, the Council of Nicaea decided by vote, 218 against 2, that Jesus was God, not a mortal prophet. Some Christian apologetics claim that Emperor Constantine did all this because he was genuinely converted to the fledgling faith called Christianity.But there is evidence that even before his purported conversion, he was an initiate of the cult of Sol Invictus, or the Invincible Sun, and acted as its chief priest throughout his life. For political expediency, not piety, Constantine introduced unchristian practices into Christianity, which modified and facilitated the spread of the latter. Four years before the Council of Nicaea met, he decreed that the sacred day, “venerable day of the sun,” Sunday, must be observed as a day of rest. Previously, Christians had adopted Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as sacred. For the cult of Sol Invictus, the most important day in a year is December 25, the birth (or rebirth) of the sun, which is now the canonical Christmas. Until the fourth century A.D., Jesus’ birthday had been celebrated on January 6. From the foregoing, it is clear that the most important components of orthodox Christianity are thoroughly soaked in paganism which was rampant in the defunct Holy Roman Empire. Now, to the plausible phenomenology of the personage named Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels. At the outset, we must accept the honest admission of scholars such as George Brandes, Joachim Kahl, Alfred Reynolds and others that, based on historical sources, we know extremely little about Jesus. Believers who dogmatically assert the historicity of the New Testament, particularly the four Gospels, are simply naive and pathetically ignorant.
The New Testament, as it exists presently, is essentially a product of 4th century editors and writers who are custodians of the emerging Christian orthodoxy with vested interests to protect. Reconstructing a historical Jesus from the Gospel narratives and very scanty direct evidence of his existence has been a tantalising challenge for researchers. But, according to Prof. J.D. Tabor, Joseph, to whom the already pregnant Mary (Miriam or Maria) was betrothed, could not have been the biological father of Jesus. Tabor mentions the historical possibility that Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera, a Roman soldier, perhaps a Jew from the North of Galilee, was Jesus’ biological father. No one knows precisely what became of Pantera. There are indications that Jesus had four half-brothers and at least two half-sisters, may be not from Joseph (who probably died childless) but from Clophas, Joseph’s brother. Jesus was raised in a very humble background. Some New Testament scholars have challenged the widespread idea that Jesus was a carpenter because his father was one. Prof. Tabor used the Greek word, tekton, which means a builder, labourer or stoneworker to describe Jesus’ vocation. In addition, a tekton was like a day labourer who had no land and worked on whatever was available without any security or guarantees. Echoes of the lowly origin of Jesus was reflected in the Gospels’ stories about him buttressing his teachings with allusions to daily labourers that either worked in vineyards or did menial job in construction sites. Jesus was baptised in line with Jewish tradition, a ritual meant to indicate purification and religious devotion.
The New Testament is silent about the life of Jesus from around his twelfth year to the time he was baptised, which occurred at the beginning of his ministry. Meanwhile, although there is no consensus among New Testament historians on the so-called lost years of Jesus, some Oriental traditions state that Issa or Jesus left his family at the age of thirteen, when an Israelite should take a wife. He travelled with some merchants to Sind so that “he might perfect himself in the divine word and study the laws of the Great Buddha.” Jesus became an itinerant religious teacher in Jewish lands. He selected twelve disciples to accompany him, comprising mostly the uneducated who were engaged in menial trades. From the outset, Jesus restricted his preaching to the Israelites (Matt. 10: 5-6; 15: 24, 18:17). He claimed that he did not come to abolish the Mosaic or Jewish law but to fulfil it. Jesus preached some ideas and lived in a manner that deviated from orthodox Judaism.
For instance, he abandoned the Jewish reluctance to eat, drink and keep company with sinners and publicans who were considered unclean by the faithful. He paid little attention to ritual, ceremonies and outward display of religious piety. Jesus discouraged public worship, ostentatious fasting and almsgiving. Probably, he disliked institutionalised religion, preferring that believers should seek the kingdom of heaven that is within them (Luke 17:21). Scholars are agreed that the accounts of Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate in the Gospels are not historically credible. They are the products of a later Christian theological tradition that sought to ingratiate Roman authorities by putting the blame for Jesus’ painful death on the obduracy of the Jews so that the new religion can survive in a hostile environment. Although no one knows the true details of the trials, it is highly probable that Jesus was condemned to death as a rebel and pretender to the Jewish throne.
He was put to death by crucifixion, one of the most shameful forms of execution and the most popular way the Roman government dealt with political offenders. Christian bigots can insult those who question the veracity of the Gospels as much as they please. But as an attentive student of critical thinking, I must work within the parameters of a scientific world outlook. A woman cannot get pregnant, let alone produce a male child, unless her egg is fertilised by a y chromosome-bearing sperm from a male. Thus, Jesus had a human father. Aside from cases of human error, clinically dead persons do not rise; therefore, the idea that Jesus resurrected after three days in a tomb is out of the question. Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Islamic sect, Ahmadiyya, in his book, Jesus in India, argued that Jesus recovered from his ordeal during the crucifixion and went to India in search of the “lost tribes of Israel,” where he eventually died at a ripe old age with his grave located in Srinagar, Kashmir. But Prof. Tabor reports that Ahmad’s theory is not backed by reliable historical sources.
To sum up: scholars who devoted themselves to New Testament research, not ignorant and knuckle-headed bigots ready to pounce and abuse those that do not share their antiquated superstitious views about Jesus, accept that the Gospels are overwhelmingly theological documents, not veridical historical accounts of actual events. No one knows who wrote them, and the names they bear were invented by the writers who compiled them to project a religious worldview. Until Christians realise this, and deemphasise those aspects that are too mythological to be objectively true, Christianity would continue to be weighed down by repugnant and arrogant self-indulgent irrationality.